confrontational
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of confrontational
Explanation
Someone who's confrontational isn't shy about arguing forcefully — in fact, it's the way they often interact with other people. When guests on a TV talk show start yelling at each other, you can describe it as confrontational. When one person confronts another, they argue face-to-face — this interaction is confrontational. The Medieval Latin source of these words is confrontare, which simply means "adjoin," or "be next to," from the Latin roots com-, "together," and frontem, "forehead." So you could think of a confrontational situation as one in which two people are disagreeing while so close that their foreheads nearly touch.
Vocabulary lists containing confrontational
The Crossover
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Words with 15 or More Letters, List 3
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"Should Communities Set Teen Curfews?" and "Curfews: A National Debate"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Confrontational and surprising, its the comic equivalent of not just airing a marriage’s dirty laundry in public, but broadcasting it on a Jumbotron.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 31, 2026
"Confrontational protests, violent or not, are part of all successful social movements," said Oscar Berglund, who researches climate activism and civil disobedience at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.
From Salon • Dec. 21, 2022
"Confrontational", "devastating", "visceral", "frazzled", "guttural, volcanic crescendos of industrial gnarl".
From BBC • Dec. 22, 2021
Confrontational approaches — debating, badgering or insisting on your own way — make other people defensive and less willing to come to an agreement, Christian says.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 13, 2021
At the Confrontational Games, everything is being exposed.
From Washington Post • Aug. 9, 2016
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
